Change Your Visuals. Change Your Habits.

I bought some almonds over the weekend. I especially like those Wasabi Soy Sauce almonds from Blue Diamond, so I bought a jar. Not a big deal, just a little snack.

Except that I did something unusual with this jar of almonds. I left them out on my counter—right in front of where I like to write.

And guess what? I can’t stop eating them. Every time I look up from my computer, there they are. So I walk over to grab a few… every couple sentences. I’ve gone months without eating almonds, but now, all of a sudden, I can’t seem to stop.

I see them and I want them—almost intuitively.

This is not a phenomenon unique to me (or almonds).

In fact, there is a lot of research supporting this hypothesis that the visuals in our environment impact our behavior.

Comments

Deleting apps from my phone was so helpful. I removed news apps, shopping apps, and social media from my phone. I can still access the information on my computer but creating friction to these sites has been life-changing. I doubt I’ll ever add social media back to my phone. A weight was lifted. I love all the examples for changing your visual to change your behavior.

i experimented rearranging some furniture and also some outdoor spaces… new vignettes with planters & patio furniture in unexpected ways. HOLY COW what a mood booster it all is everytime i view it and can’t believe i didn’t do it before. rut busting is going to be an ongoing thing round my place…

I had the same problem, but my wife of 58 years has a sweet tooth that she enjoys. I tried since 1/1/2020 to lose 15 pounds and leveled off at an 8 pound loss and couldn’t go any further. Then a piece on NPR about a woman who successfully quit smoking inspired me. Her habit and solution weren’t exactly mine, but here’s what I did.

I promised myself that if I had just one York Patty, Oreo, or serving of Colombian coffee ice cream (all downfalls of mine), I would donate $10 each time to — not one of my favorite charities, but to the election campaign of the person who, if he wins in November, will want me to leave the country. (I won’t tell you which candidate.)

So guess what? The first week I lost 3 pounds, and broke the barrier. And after a week, I’m no longer even tempted by the sweets. Just the thought of ‘that’ guy winning the election makes me lose my appetite.

Thanks! Loved excusing you while you got another almond…recognizing our weakness or tendencies helps us to realize what needs changed to make improvements in our life. It gives us traction to take steps forward.
Blessings, Joshua, as you continue to teach us ways to live with purpose and less stuff to clutter our lives.

I feel like there’s a part 2 on this topic; the impact of social interactions. To me, 50% is changing the visual queues, 50% is changing the social pressures. We are social creatures and whether we like it or not, we’re copycats.

You may have to change who you spend time with. You may have to change who you follow or your utilization of social media. You may even have to change your job, social clubs, religious affiliations, etc.

If you live in America you can use a wonderful Application called UnrollMe (I think it’s spelled like that) they will roll up all the subscription emails you Do want in one email daily for you, they will unsubscribe from others and you never have to see them again. It’s incredibly easy to use. Now I live in France and because of all these new privacy settings we cannot have it in Europe. I could weep!

No kidding, I was eating almonds while I read this. I only had them because I saw the bag of mixed raw nuts out on the table as I walked through the kitchen. I don’t even like almonds; I eat them as the leftover nuts from the mix. Thanks for the perspective.